Strawberries
by sezjara
Summary: Early morning conversation in the commissary...Ronon/Keller pre-ship. UPDATED! I re-uploaded the story after making some changes. Though minor, I believe they make the story flow better. Feel free to re-read and tell me what you think. Thanks!


Strawberries

Strawberries

_By Sezjara_

TITLE: Strawberries

AUTHOR: Sezjara

SUMMARY: Early morning conversation in the commissary… Ronon/Keller pre-ship

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: Minor ones for season 4, just a conversation between Teyla and Jennifer during "Missing", and Spoilers for Season 5 episode 08, "Tracker"

DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters, settings, plots, etc. aren't mine, never have been, never will be. Not for money, just for fun. No copyright infringement intended.

NOTES:

Set in season 5, after the events of the episode "Tracker."

Part of this story came to me late one night as I was lying in bed trying to sleep. I finally had to get up and write the idea down just so I could go to sleep. After writing the initial story, letting it sit for a couple of months, then tweaking it, rewriting some parts of it, adding other parts, and rereading it several times, it's finally finished.

This could be considered a one-shot, but if anyone is interested in more, I can try to write more for you, but no promises!! Just let me know.

Thanks to **shaiewolf** for looking this over for me, and a very huge thanks to **renisanz** for the encouragement and the help in kicking this story into proper shape. I present to you, "Strawberries!" Enjoy!!

UPDATED!! I recently updated this, having rewritten a few things to make it flow better (thank you Sharon!!) so feel free to let me know what you think. I'd appreciate it! :)

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

Sitting alone in the empty commissary, the early morning light of dawn drifting through the colored windows casting a beautiful display of shadows throughout the room, Jennifer Keller is enjoying a large dish of fresh strawberries. Sighing happily, she pulls a small tube of chap-stick from her right jacket pocket and applies it to her overly-dry lips. Just as she replaces the cap, she is startled by a voice beside her.

"Hey, doc."

Jumping in her seat, Jennifer drops the small tube with an audible gasp. Turning in her seat and seeing the big Satedan standing to her right, she breathes out a sigh of relief, her left hand over her racing heart.

Bending down, Ronon picks up the wayward item and studies it quizzically for a moment. Removing the cap, as he had seen her do only moments before, he cautiously smells the foreign object, then raises his eyebrows at her in silent question.

"It's called chap-stick." Seeing his perplexed look, she smiles at him. Even after three years, the man still doesn't understand some of the habits and customs of the people from Earth. "It's a moisturizer for my lips. It keeps them from getting too dry or chapped."

He smells the tube again before replacing the cap, then handing it to her. "It smells kind of like those strawberries."

Putting the tube back into her pocket, she looks at him before replying with a nod and a smile, "Strawberry happens to be one of my favorite flavors." Pointing to the seat on her left, which is at the head of the table, she continues, "Are you just going to stand there all day, or would you like to join me?"

Grinning at her, Ronon walks around her, pulls out the chair and sits down, eying her dish of half-gone strawberries. "Where'd you get the strawberries anyway?"

"Oh, you didn't hear from Colonel Sheppard and Teyla?" She raises her eyebrows in surprise.

Still eying the strawberries, he replies, "I haven't had the chance. They both disappeared after you finished their post-mission exams yesterday. I haven't seen them since."

"Oh, really? That's interesting. I'll have to ask her about it later. Anyway, they left a few days ago on that follow-up trading mission, the one with the harvest festival?"

Ronon furrows his brows at her, so she elaborates, a smirk touching her face. He hated trading missions, and tended to let himself forget the boring ones. "The four members of your team, as well as me, were asked to attend as representatives of Atlantis to help finalize the negotiations, and the villagers invited us to participate in their annual harvest festival. Do you remember?"

Ronon finally nods. "The one with the green flowers?"

Smiling, she responds with, "Yeah, that's one way to remember it." The planet had a lovely carpet of blue-green flowers with an uncanny resemblance to carnations. "Well, since you and McKay were busy helping the villagers escape from the Wraith," she shudders at the memory of their most recent mission, "while I was trying to escape from Kiryk, _and_ help Celise, Woolsey sent Sheppard and Teyla, along with Major Lorne, Dr. Zelenka and one of my senior-staff nurses."

"So it went well?" Ronon shifts in the uncomfortable chair, stretching his legs out in front of him and resting his hands on his stomach.

"Yeah, Teyla told me the negotiations went smoothly, and they all had a wonderful time at the festival. She also said that the natives have more strawberries than they know what to do with, so they sent us a couple of crates as a gesture of good will."

"Cool." Sitting up and snatching a strawberry from her dish, he grins at her before popping it into his mouth. When she glared at him, his only response was a shrug of his shoulders and, "I like strawberries."

Laughing this time, she says, "Yeah, me, too. When I was growing up, my mom always had strawberries in her garden, and I would go out every morning and eat nearly every ripe strawberry I could find. She hated it, because if she didn't get out there before I did, by the end of the season there weren't that many left for her and dad." Smiling at the fond memory, she takes another strawberry from the dish.

"After trying and failing to stop me eating all of them, I guess she figured it was better than me eating too much candy." Eating the strawberry, she looks at Ronon, who is watching her with a predatory look in his eye. Blushing slightly, she looks away and continues with her memory. "Mom finally started growing twice as many, just so her and dad could enjoy some of them."

Smiling through misty eyes, she looks down at her lap, and then looks back up at Ronon as he speaks, another strawberry held between his fingers.

"You miss them? Your parents?" The genuine concern in his eyes surprises her almost as much as the gentleness of his voice and it melts her heart.

She nods, looking down again as she tries not to cry. "Yeah, I do. Mom, she died a few years ago. I still miss her, but I'm getting used to not having her around. My dad…losing mom was really hard on him. He still really misses her, and I know he misses me a lot, too, just at I miss him." Pausing, Jen clears her throat before continuing, her voice shaky, "I'm all he's got left of her."

"You get to see him much?" Folding his hands on the table, his deep-green eyes bore into hers, and she could swear he was looking into her very soul.

Blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay, she replies after a moment, her voice still cracking with emotion, "Not really. I mean, I've gone back home a couple of times, once after Teyla's people went missing, and again after Sam, McKay and I fell into that Genii mining shaft. But I've not been able to since then."

Ronon allows her a quiet moment to compose herself before speaking.

"You should go see him, take a break. It's been pretty crazy 'round here lately." He eats another strawberry, never taking his eyes away from her lovely face.

"Yeah, it has. I'd have to convince Woolsey first, though, and that won't be easy." She sighs, rubbing her temples, not looking forward to _that_ conversation.

Sitting in silence for a few more minutes, Ronon helps Jen finish her strawberries as they simply enjoy the quiet of the early morning hour. Finally, Ronon stands to leave. "I'm going to find Sheppard. Thanks for the strawberries!"

Jen nods, smiling over her shoulder at him as he walks away. She turns back to her empty strawberry dish, intent on leaving before the morning crowd gathers for breakfast. Standing up from the table, she turns to grab the dirty dish, only to be startled once again by Ronon's unexpected reappearance.

"Ronon, jeez, can you _try_ to not sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry doc." Glancing briefly at her strawberry flavored lips, Ronon looks her in the eye before speaking again. "Can I try some of that chap-stick?"

Furrowing her brows, Jen takes a moment to respond. "Um, sure, I don't see why not."

Jen reaches towards her pocket to retrieve the once forgotten chap-stick, but is interrupted as Ronon, with a twinkle in his eye, grins, grabs the back of her neck with his left hand, and presses his lips to hers. Tasting the strawberry on her breath and lips, he explores her entire mouth with his tongue. After only a moment of surprise, Jen finally relaxes and starts to respond with equal amounts of enthusiasm. His fingers somehow find their way to her hair, while hers are clutching the front of his shirt.

After a very heated minute, he finally releases her. Straightening up, he licks his lips, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I like strawberries." Turning, he walks away without a backward glance, until he reaches the door, where he pauses. Looking back at her, he says, "Tonight after your shift, meet me at my quarters for dinner." Not waiting for a response, he exits the room and disappears.

After standing in stunned silence for a moment, Jennifer gently presses her fingers to her lips, discards her empty dish, and walks to the infirmary with a smile on her face.

"Definitely my favorite flavor."

THE END

_A/N: Thank you for reading!! Please review, they really are helpful and appreciated. What did you like, what didn't you like? Please? :)_


End file.
